The first report to draw a relationship between race, income, and risk of exposure to pollutants was the Council of Environmental Quality’s "Annual Report to the President" in 1971. After protests in Warren County, North Carolina, the United Church of Christ commissioned a report exploring the concept.

In 1979, Robert D. Bullard, a sociologist at Texas Southern University, completed a report describing the futile attempt of an affluent African-American community in Houston, Texas to block the siting of a hazardous waste landfill in their community. This paper provided evidence that race, not just income status, was a probable factor in this local "uninvited" land-use decision. In 1977, Sidney Howe, Director of the Human Environment Center, suggested that people positioned in the poor socioeconomic level of their respective communities were exposed to more pollution than others, and that those creating the most pollution live in the least polluted places. He used the term environmental justice to describe the corrective measures needed to address this disparity.

During the 1980s, African Americans began organizing environmental campaigns to avoid poisoning farm workers with pesticides, lead poisoning in inner-city children, the zoning of toxic facilities such as landfills, polluting industrial complexes, and incinerators. In addition, many Americans questioned the placement of large numbers of nuclear waste dumps on Native-American reservations. Meanwhile, activists, scholars, and policymakers began investigating the link between race and exposure to environmental hazards. Two influential studies exploring this relationship—one by the U.S. General Accounting Office (US GAO) and the other by the United Church of Christ (UCC)—found that African-Americans and other people of color were more likely to live close to hazardous waste sites and facilities than whites. The study by the UCC was particularly important because it made an explicit connection between race and the increased likelihood of being exposed to hazardous wastes. The studies also made the issue of race and the environment more salient in communities of color. ... continue reading>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_racism

THE ISSUE: STATISTICS AND EXAMPLES In order to understand the injustices of environmental practices and policy making, it is important to look at what environmental justice has to do with race. According to Salzman and Thompson, “environmental justice focuses on how the burdens of environmental harms and regulations are allocated among individuals and groups within our society” (Salzman & Thompson 38). In other words, environmental justice can only work if we look at how it affects people of different social groups, i.e. racial or class groups. Why are communities that have a majority population of people of color the ones that are targeted by polluting industries? In Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality, Bullard explains that African American communities are targeted by polluting industries because of their “economic and political vulnerability… and are likely to suffer greater risks from these facilities than are the general population” (Bullard, Dumping in Dixie, xiv). African American communities simply lack the organization, financial resources, and governmental lobbying and support to assess and handle these problems on their own, so businesses take advantage of them. Also, environmental issues are lower on the list of social issues in African American communities than are issues such as drugs, crime and poverty, thus there is not much focus on the environment. From looking at individual case studies, it is apparent that environmental laws and regulations are not applied uniformly. There are obvious differences between the health risks of people who live near industrial pollution, and according to Bullard, “virtually all of the studies of exposure to outdoor air pollution have found a significant difference according to income and race” (Bullard, Dumping in Dixie, 99). Statistics provide disturbing evidence to help prove Bullard’s point. For example, in Atlanta 82.8% of blacks live in areas that are highly exposed to waste and pollution, compared to 60.2% of whites. Also, in King and Queen County, VA, the population is virtually split 50/50 between white and black. Between 1969 and 1990, five new landfills were placed in the county. Four out of the five landfills were placed in predominantly black communities, leaving only one to be placed a predominantly white community. All five of these communities protested the landfill sites, however only the protests conducted by people living in the predominantly white community were successful. 50% of children in the U.S. suffering from lead poisoning are African American and exposure to lead poisoning is higher for African Americans both within and outside urban areas, regardless of income level. Three-fifths of all African Americans live in communities where abandoned toxic waste sites are located (Bullard, In Our Backyards, 12). Nearly half of all Native Americans live in communities with uncontrolled toxic waste sites. As the number of people of color in a community increases, so does the probability that a waste site will be placed in that community. A 1993 survey found that 87% of studies done on the distribution of environmental hazards have revealed disparities based on race (Goldman Table 1). Cases and statistics such as these show the correlation between race and the placement of hazardous industries. ... continue reading>> http://antiracistresistance.wordpress.com/environmental-racism

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Synopsis: Shame On You: That Can Be Reused! is a must-see intergenerational documentary that explores environmental justice and recycling in NYC's urban communities with a focus on the South Bronx. Through interviews with experts, South Bronx residents and youth groups, EVC Youth Producers examine what environmental racism is, whom it affects and how we can make a change.

Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil derived from the palm fruit, grown on the African oil palm tree. Oil palms are originally from Western Africa, but can flourish wherever heat and rainfall are abundant. Today, almost all palm oil is produced in, and exported from, Indonesia and Malaysia; but most of the time not using sustainable measures.

Vast areas of pristine rainforest is slashed and burned each year in order to make way for oil palm plantations. Many orangutans and other wildlife are killed in the process, so that this one vegetable oil can be used in many of our everyday foods and products. This large-scale deforestation is pushing orangutans to extinction, along with many other native species of Borneo and Sumatra.Palm oil is an extremely popular vegetable oil amongst manufacturers. It is used in over 50% of products, including: baked goods, confectionery, cosmetics, body products and cleaning agents. But in many countries, there is no law on the mandatory labelling of palm oil. Consequently, companies will usually hide palm oil under the name of 'vegetable oil', or over 170 other names! (See the list of the most common 30 names below).

One argument is that we need palm oil in today's society, and that palm oil is a key ingredient in many foods and body products. But what about 30 years ago? Back then, palm oil wasn't use is nearly as many products as today (as seen in the graphs found on the 'Images' page), in fact, it was almost non-existant in much of the Western-world. So why does there need to be such a high demand for it in the modern world? We don't need palm oil. There a many alternatives to palm oil, but unfortunately none as cheap and efficient, which is why companies are reluctant to switch. ... continue reading>> http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/palm-oil.php

PALM OIL FACTS

Oil palms produce more per hectare of land than any other oil-producing crop

Palm oil has surpassed soy oil as the world’s most popular vegetable oil

Palm oil is used in about 50% of all packaged food products in supermarkets today

Palm oil is used in a wide range of foods (e.g. margarine, ice cream) and non-food products (e.g. shampoos, soap, cosmetics) to make them more ‘creamy’

Museveni signs bill that could mean life in prison for "aggravated homosexuality"

The bill, which has been debated in Uganda for years, originally included a death penalty

President Barack Obama said enacting the bill would affect U.S. relations with Uganda

Museveni rejects criticism of the bill as an imperialistic push by West to impose values on others

(CNN) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has signed into law a bill that toughens penalties against gay people and defines some homosexual acts as crimes punishable by life in prison. Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda, and Museveni had gone back and forth recently about whether he would sign the controversial bill in the face of vocal opposition from the West. At the public signing of the bill Monday, a defiant Museveni declared that he would not allow the West to impose its values on Uganda. "We have been disappointed for a long time by the conduct of the West, the way you conduct yourselves there," he told CNN's Zain Verjee in Entebbe. "Our disappointment is now exacerbated because we are sorry to see that you live the way you live, but we keep quiet about it. Now you say 'you must also live like us' -- that's where we say no." Gay rights around the world Gay and afraid in Uganda The bill, introduced first in 2009, originally included a death penalty clause for some homosexual acts. It was briefly shelved when Britain and other European nations threatened to withdraw aid to Uganda, which relies on millions of dollars from the international community. The nation's parliament passed the bill in December, replacing the death penalty provision with a proposal of life in prison for "aggravated homosexuality." This includes acts in which one person is infected with HIV, "serial offenders" and sex with minors, according to Amnesty International. The bill also proposed years in prison for anyone who counsels or reaches out to gays and lesbians, a provision that would ensnare rights groups and others providing services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. ... continue reading>>http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/24/world/africa/uganda-anti-gay-bill

It is well known in economics academia that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written by L. Frank Baum in 1900 is loaded with powerful symbols of monetary reform which were the core of the Populist movement and the 1896 and 1900 president bid of Democrat William Jennings Bryan.

The yellow brick road (gold standard), the emerald city of Oz (greenback money), even Dorothy's silver slippers (changed to ruby slippers for the movie version) were the symbol of Baum's and Bryan's belief that adding silver coinage to gold would provide much needed money to a depression-strapped, 1890s America.THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ -- A Monetary Reformer’s Brief Symbol Glossary

]]>Tue, 11 Feb 2014 21:27:35 GMThttp://hypsis.weebly.com/misc-past-blogs-5/globesity-documentaryGlobesity: This is a blend of global with obesity and refers to the looming public health crisis worldwide caused by excessive weight gain. A writer at the World Health Organization coined it in a report in February 2001 on the increasing risk caused by obesity worldwide.

From Mexico to Qatar, obesity rates are soaring to unprecedented levels. The alarming trend is damaging economic performance, as well as the health of millions of consumers worldwide. Take our increasingly sedentary lifestyles, mix in a generous portion of American fast-food and dubious agricultural practices, add a dash of corporate duplicity and you have a recipe for high obesity rates across the planet. The newly released United Nations report on global nutrition does not make for very appetizing reading: Amid an already floundering global economy, the reality of a fattening planet is dragging down world productivity rates while increasing health insurance costs to the tune of $3.5 trillion dollars per year - or 5 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP). 31.8 percent of US adults are now considered clinically obese. This is a remarkable figure, especially considering that it is approximately double the US obesity rate registered in 1995, according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention . An individual is considered obese when their body mass index (BMI), a measurement obtained by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by the square of the person's height in meters, exceeds 30 kg/m2, according to the World Health Organization. Meanwhile, much of the international community is quickly catching up with the global consumption superpower. Mexico, for example, just surpassed US obesity rates with a whopping 32.8 percent of Mexican adults now considered to be clinically obese. The unprecedented weight gains in Mexico, however, as well as many other countries, appear to be no accident.Following the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mexico became the dumping ground for a slew of cheap fast food and carbonated drinks, according to a Foreign Policy report.

Thanks to NAFTA, there was a more than 1,200 percent increase in high-fructose corn syrup exports from the US to Mexico between 1996 and 2012, according to the US Agriculture Department. In an effort to place a cap on the high-calorie drinks, Mexican officials introduced a tax on beverages containing high-fructose corn syrup. American corn refiners, however, cried foul and the tax was voted down by the World Trade Organization. . . . continue reading>>http://rt.com/usa/us-obesity-food-global-regulation

A film about how obesity during the last few decades has suddenly become a worldwide epidemic.Obesity is no longer just a rich country's problem. It's now taken hold in poor and emerging countries and is rapidly developing into an insurmountable health crisis. Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers are on the march in nation's ill equipped to treat sufferers or educate others about the dangers of getting too fat. It's predicted that by 2030 one billion people will be obese, so how will the world cope with its ever expanding waistline?The Australian Broadcasting Corporation produced a program in July 2012 that examined the world's number one health issue. Globesity - Fat's New Frontier - explores four obesity hotspots outside of the United States - Mexico, Brazil, China and India - where hundreds of millions are dying from diabetes. In 2010, 500 million people were obese worldwide. Shockingly, that figure is predicted to rise to one billion by 2030. On the one hand, Americans can take comfort in the fact that obesity is NOT just an American problem. Mexico has a bigger weight problem than America does. On the other hand, however, Americans have been busy exporting their process food industry, making the world fat, under the guise of preventing under-nutrition; all in the name of ever greater corporate profits.

--- 1st Video Info:THE FOOD DESERT PROJECT - 87 Conceptions brings you a look behind the world of food in Baltimore, Md. "The Food Desert Project" Which briefly details what a food desert is and why certain locations are deemed as such.Much work must still be done to improve food access issues, and increase awareness of the realities of resource disparities as well as lack of food education. Ultimately, we the people must demand fresh and healthy foods in our neighborhoods. Until we start caring more about issues of food insecurity and make a collective effort things may just stay the same... DO YOUR PART! Shot and edited by: Pascal of 87Conceptions Contact: 87conceptions@gmail.com S/O to all parties involved with this project.--- 2nd Video Info:Mari talks about Food Desert awareness and solutions, negligence regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the unapologetic basics of improving public health through "Truth in Data for the Common Good."

Mari Gallagher is principal of Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group, a firm whose expertise includes "going green", immigration, health and wellness projects, and -- of course -- food deserts.

She is the author of Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago, a breakthrough study which popularized the term "food desert" across the country, and currently writes for the Huffington Post. Venues that have featured her findings include CNN, National Public Radio, Salon.com, USA Today, The Economist, The Chicago Tribune and The Detroit Free Press.

Food vendor Daphina Jacobs (center) and friends set up a booth

Food Deserts Aren't The Problem (Excerpt)Getting fresh fruits and vegetables into low-income neighborhoods doesn’t make poor people healthier. By Heather Tirado Gilligan. . . The Healthy Food Financing Initiative was more than a victory for the food movement. Aimed in large part at low-income city neighborhoods, which tend to be disproportionately black and Latino, it was—and is—the Obama administration’s most visible policy designed to help poor people of color. The Healthy Food Financing Initiative has distributed more than $500 million to increase fresh food access—at the same time that funding for food stamps, a program proven to improve the lives of people living in poverty, was cut to pre-stimulus levels. Since the reductions, food stamp recipients have received just $1.40 per meal per family member. Unfortunately, more fresh food closer to home likely does nothing for folks at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. Obesity levels don’t drop when low-income city neighborhoods have or get grocery stores. A 2011 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed no connection between access to grocery stores and more healthful diets using 15 years’ worth of data from more than 5,000 people in five cities. One 2012 study showed that the local food environment did not influence the diet of middle-school children in California. Another 2012 study, published in Social Science and Medicine, used national data on store availability and a multiyear study of grade-schoolers to show no connection between food environment and diet. And this month, a study in Health Affairs examined one of the Philadelphia grocery stores that opened with help from the Fresh Food Financing Initiative. The authors found that the store had no significant impact on reducing obesity or increasing daily fruit and vegetable consumption in the four years since it opened. ... to read article in its entirety go to >> http://www.slate.com/articles/life/foodLink to:Food desert From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the blighted neighborhoods of inner city Baltimore, lined with abandoned buildings and broken down cars, the loud, rhythmic, menacing choir of dirt bikes and four-wheelers can be heard cutting through the silence. Ranging in age from teenage boys to men in their 30s, the large pack of illegal dirt bike riders race, weave and perform acrobatics at high speeds through the streets with almost celebrity stature. They are known as the 12 O'Clock Boys and people line the sidewalks with their smartphones and iPads to take in their spectacle. To some, the ride together is a street sermon of sorts, a Sunday ritual. To the Baltimore police and to many city residents, the bikers are a public safety hazard, who can seem intimidating as they perform stunts in traffic. But to a 12-year-old boy, who calls West Baltimore home, being a part of this urban dirt-biker pack would be a dream come true. Born Taekwon Ford, friends and family call him "Pug." "When I ride, I feel powerful. I feel like a super hero," Pug said. "It feels like, you know, on top of the world."

The 12 O'Clock Boys' name comes from the group's trademark maneuver: speeding down the street with the front wheel of their bike pointing straight up, like the hands on the clock.

The 12 O'Clock Boys are the subject of a new controversial film by the same name that came out last month. The film explores the attraction and motivation behind the urban dirt biker group through the eyes of Pug and a few older members.

The film follows Pug for three years, from a precocious 12-year-old on the shy side of puberty to an edgy, often angry, teenager, hardened by circumstance. It details Pug's primary aspiration in life, which is to become a 12 O'Clock Boy.

When asked why, he told "Nightline," "It's fun."

"You're seeing people's faces, they be so excited to see you," he said. "It just be amazing."

The film's director Lotfy Nathan was a college student from Great Britain studying at an art school in Baltimore when he started following the Baltimore dirt biker group as a class project.

Click Pic for Website

The 12 O'Clock Boys have been described as many things -- a fearless pack, a gang, a menace, troublemakers –- but according to Nathan, they are not only "rebels," but also "mentors" and "children."

"Right outside of [Pug's] door in West Baltimore, there was drug dealers, there's violence all the time. He would see these dealers waving cash in front of them and they seemed like the most successful people on the block," Nathan said. "It's seductive from a young age. So that's why I kind of shy away from calling [the 12 O'Clock Boys] a gang, from calling them menaces. As problematic as it is, it's still kind of lesser of evils."

Nathan said he understands the conflict between the 12 O'Clock Boys and the rest of the city, but he sees how the group can have a positive impact on someone like Pug.

"It's not necessarily the right kind of out, but it is an out for a lot of kids in Baltimore," Nathan said. "It's actually a kind of edification for a lot of kids in Baltimore. It's kind of like Boy Scouts or something in the context of what gangs can really be in Baltimore and what violence can really be and what can be."Source of article (w/video): http://abcnews.go.com/US/12-oclock-boys-

THE PAST: In 1986, Honda engineers set out to create a walking robot. Early models (E1, E2, E3) focused on developing legs that could simulate the walk of a human. The next series of models (E4, E5, E6) were focused on walk stabilization and stair climbing. Next, a head, body and arms were added to the robot to improve balance and add functionality. Honda’s first humanoid robot, P1 was rather rugged at 6’ 2” tall, and 386 lbs. P2 improved with a more friendly design, improved walking, stair climbing/descending, and wireless automatic movements. The P3 model was even more compact, standing 5’ 2” tall and weighing 287 lbs.

THE PRESENT: ASIMO is the culmination of two decades of humanoid robotics research by Honda engineers. ASIMO can run, walk on uneven slopes and surfaces, turn smoothly, climb stairs, and reach for and grasp objects. ASIMO can also comprehend and respond to simple voice commands. ASIMO has the ability to recognize the face of a select group of individuals. Using its camera eyes, ASIMO can map its environment and register stationary objects. ASIMO can also avoid moving obstacles as it moves through its environment.

THE FUTURE: s development continues on ASIMO, today Honda demonstrates ASIMO around the world to encourage and inspire young students to study the sciences. And in the future, ASIMO may serve as another set of eyes, ears, hands and legs for all kinds of people in need. Someday ASIMO might help with important tasks like assisting the elderly or a person confined to a bed or a wheelchair. ASIMO might also perform certain tasks that are dangerous to humans, such as fighting fires or cleaning up toxic spills.To learn more about ASIMO go to >> http://asimo.honda.com/default.aspx

]]>Sat, 25 Jan 2014 14:01:59 GMThttp://hypsis.weebly.com/misc-past-blogs-5/plant-theft-the-worlds-most-popular-black-market-plantsThe theft of a rare water lily from Kew Gardens has served as a reminder of the shady international trade in stolen plants. Here are the most irresistible for green fingersSaguaro cactus: long a target for poachers

There is a thriving international trade in stolen plants. Exact figures are hard to obtain, but with the legal plant trade valued at £9bn annually, the illegal trade is thought to be in the hundreds of millions. “There are 30,000 plants on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species list (the body that polices flora and fauna levels) list of endangered species, compared with just 5,000 animals,” says Dr Richard Thomas from Traffic, an organisation that monitors illegal wildlife trade. “One issue is that when a species goes on the list – particularly orchids – there is likely to be a run on it. There are a number of species, such as Paphiopedilum vietnamense, that no longer exist in the wild because they have been so collected.” Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is an offence to pick rare plants, or to take plants from the owner’s land without permission.Here are some of the most desirable plants worldwide:Read More @ http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Think you can spot an introvert in a crowd? Think again. Although the stereotypical introvert may be the one at the party who's hanging out alone by the food table fiddling with an iPhone, the "social butterfly" can just as easily have an introverted personality. "Spotting the introvert can be harder than finding Waldo," Sophia Dembling, author of "The Introvert's Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World," tells The Huffington Post. "A lot of introverts can pass as extroverts." People are frequently unaware that they’re introverts -– especially if they’re not shy -- because they may not realize that being an introvert is about more than just cultivating time alone. Instead, it can be more instructive to pay attention to whether they're losing or gaining energy from being around others, even if the company of friends gives them pleasure. “Introversion is a basic temperament, so the social aspect -- which is what people focus on -- is really a small part of being an introvert," Dr. Marti Olsen Laney, psychotherapist and author of "The Introvert Advantage," said in a Mensa discussion. "It affects everything in your life.” Despite the growing conversation around introversion, it remains a frequently misunderstood personality trait. As recently as 2010, the American Psychiatric Association even considered classifying "introverted personality" as a disorder by listing it in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5), a manual used to diagnose mental illness. But more and more introverts are speaking out about what it really means to be a "quiet" type. Not sure if you're an innie or an outie? See if any of these 23 telltale signs of introversion apply to you.. . continue reading>>